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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24986611">Meet Me in the Ocean</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/mdr_24601/pseuds/mdr_24601'>mdr_24601</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hunger Games Series - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Arena (Hunger Games), District 4 (Hunger Games), Gen, POV Annie Cresta, Pre-Canon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 02:34:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,690</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24986611</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/mdr_24601/pseuds/mdr_24601</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It takes a lot to drown Annie Cresta.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Annie Cresta &amp; Finnick Odair, Annie Cresta/Finnick Odair</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Meet Me in the Ocean</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Annie doesn’t remember learning how to swim. She doesn’t remember her first steps in the water, or listening to the gentle and encouraging voices of her parents as they urge her forward. She only remembers being able to swim, feeling more comfortable in the water than on land. In District Four, children learn to swim as they learn to walk. </p><p><em> You’ll never drown, </em> her parents used to tell her. <em> Swimming is as natural as breathing. The ocean will protect you.  </em></p><p>But that’s just District Four. Perhaps kids in Three feel most comfortable around their electronics, or kids in Seven feel right at home in their dense forests. </p><p>So for Annie, there’s no definite first time she can remember being in the water. It’s just always been that way. </p><p>She does, however, remember the first time she saw Finnick Odair. He is ten years old and she is nine; they are swimming, as kids from Four are prone to doing. Finnick is popular and well liked and Annie can’t help but wonder what he is doing near her, but she doesn’t bother to ask. </p><p>They have a race in the ocean and she wins, letting the current propel her forward and the water embrace her. Finnick, even at ten, is a fast swimmer, but nobody can beat Annie’s endurance. </p><p>“Nice job,” he tells her, grinning. “Nobody’s beat me in a race before.”</p><p>“Nobody?” Annie asks, perplexed, because it certainly wasn’t that difficult. Finnick only laughs at her surprise and holds out his hand as soon as they’re ankle deep in the water. </p><p>“I’m Finnick Odair.”</p><p>“I know who you are,” Annie says before she can stop herself, because who doesn’t know Finnick Odair? She feels her face heat up as she responds. “I’m Annie Cresta.”</p><p>Finnick gives her another smile and shuffles his feet slightly, so the water around him ripples. “Well, Annie Cresta, we’ll have to do this again sometime. Meet me tomorrow after school, same place? I want a rematch.” </p><p>“Sure,” Annie shrugs. “But you should be prepared to lose again.”</p><p>“Maybe you’re the one that needs to be prepared,” Finnick says, his eyes shining brightly. “I can win.”</p><p>She laughs and shakes her head. “Not the way you’ve been doing it. You use all your power at the very beginning of the race, then lose all your energy.”</p><p>“Annie Cresta, are you implying that I’m swimming wrong?”</p><p>“I’m not implying it, I’m saying it,” Annie corrects as she juts out her chin stubbornly. “You’re swimming wrong.”</p><p>Before he could reply, a man’s voice called out Finnick’s name. “Sorry, that’s my dad. Guess I have to go. See you tomorrow, Annie.”</p><p>All she could do was wave goodbye as Finnick took off down the beach, his footprints imprinted on the sand in front of her. </p><hr/><p>When he is reaped, Annie feels the sickening horror make its way through her body. She’s never been close to drowning, but it must feel something like this. Her breath quickens and a few people turn to look her way, but one sentence consumes her thoughts. </p><p>
  <em> He’s going to die.  </em>
</p><p>Finnick looks triumphant on stage, but Annie is feeling the opposite. Her palms begin to sweat and she instinctively wipes them on her faded blue skirt. </p><p>No fourteen-year-old has ever won the Games before. Perhaps Finnick can be the first, but it’s unlikely. </p><p>
  <em> He’s going to die.  </em>
</p><p>The tributes (Annie hates that word, always will. That word being used to describe Finnick is even worse) are ushered offstage and into the Justice Building for goodbyes, and Annie resists the urge to throw up the whole time. </p><p>She waits in a line behind Finnick’s family. He has parents who look worried and a younger sister who’s openly wailing. In situations like this, Annie wishes she was young, so it would be acceptable for her to be openly wailing, too. </p><p>Finnick looks pained by the time she enters the room. “Annie,” he says, like he’s surprised she showed up, as if they hadn’t been friends for four years. </p><p>“Finnick,” she greets, and realizes suddenly that she has no idea what to say. “Promise you’ll try to win?” </p><p>“I’ll try,” he smiles, as if trying to be reassuring, but it comes across as more of a grimace. “Who will beat you in swimming races if I’m gone?”</p><p>“It was one time!” Annie laughs, even though there’s nothing remotely funny about the situation. “But when you come back, I’ll let you win.”</p><p>Finnick doesn’t say anything, only gives her a sad smile. He squeezes her hand gently and she’s ushered out of the room by Peacekeepers, her last goodbye dying on her lips. </p><hr/><p>Finnick out-swims a mutt in his arena, his strokes controlled and deliberate. His power is consistent the whole way through and he doesn’t falter in his speed, and Annie wonders, for a moment, if the other people watching will know that she’s the one who taught him that. </p><p>He gets his trident only hours later, prongs gleaming and looking right at home in his hands. Annie watches as he spears six kids with it. She would take a death out at sea over a death in the arena any day, because the sight of their guts spilling onto the earth below them makes bile rise in her throat. </p><p>When Finnick is crowned victor, he doesn’t look like a boy from District Four anymore. He looks like a boy born and raised in the arena, with his trident held up triumphantly and his eyes gleaming with malice. </p><p>Annie watches at home and tries to remember the child he was only a month ago. </p><hr/><p>Weeks pass before Annie even talks to him. As soon as the cameras leave, Finnick locks himself in his house and leaves only to go to the beach. When it becomes apparent that he isn’t going to seek her out, she visits him instead. </p><p>“Up for a race?"</p><p>Finnick sits on the sand, his eyes staring dully out at the horizon. He seems to startle at her voice and flinches when she approaches. “What?”</p><p>“A race,” Annie repeats. “Unless you have something else you’d rather do?”</p><p>“No, a race sounds fine,” Finnick says, standing up. “Prepared to lose, Cresta?”</p><p>She grins widely at the hint of his old self. “In your dreams, Odair.” She shrieks when Finnick takes off into the water, and she chases after him, catching up. They call the race a tie and Annie can see the ocean breathe life into Finnick again. </p><p>“One of these days, I’ll win,” Finnick says. “And you’ll be so in awe that you’ll wonder how I got so good at racing.”</p><p>Annie laughs. “You must have had a good teacher.”</p><p>He looks at her for a moment then says, “The best.”</p><p>She grins and splashes him, and he splashes back, and Annie feels her heart get lighter. The Games may have changed him, that’s true. But Finnick is the same in all the ways that matter. </p><hr/><p>She’s eighteen when she’s reaped. Eighteen, about to escape the threat of the arena forever. Now the threat is looming too close for Annie’s comfort, like when you pull a blanket over your head and the air begins to feel stale. Her chest tightens in fear and she finds it difficult to breathe. The ocean waves crash in the distance and for a brief moment, Annie considers running away and letting the sea swallow her whole. </p><p>But she makes the walk to the stage and Finnick’s eyes look tired and sad. Suddenly the comforting warmth of the sun feels stifling but Annie can’t bring herself to feel glad to be on the air conditioned train, because the ocean is speeding away from her. </p><hr/><p>The ground in the arena starts to shake and Annie is roused from sleep when a steady stream of water picks her up and carries her away. Her supplies are lost to the flood but Annie can’t bring herself to mind, because a death by flood is not a bad way to go. </p><p>For a moment, she lets herself believe that she’s back home, and she’s simply gone too far out in the ocean. <em> Nobody drowns in District Four, </em> she can hear her parents say. <em> The ocean will protect you.  </em></p><p>But this isn’t District Four, this is the arena, and she’s perfectly susceptible to drowning here. The waves are rough and erratic and they pull and jerk her body. The water is icy cold, nothing like the water back home, and Annie has to fight to keep her head above water. She almost thinks about succumbing to the chilling cold that numbs her limbs and wants to let the water drag her down until her cannon sounds. </p><p>Her entire body feels heavy and Annie recognizes the feeling. The feeling when you’ve swam too much and your body has nothing left to give. Water surrounds her from all sides as she lets her body go limp. </p><p>Annie can almost feel herself drifting away when she hears it. </p><p>
  <em> Up for a race, Cresta? </em>
</p><p>A race with Finnick? Well, that was certainly manageable. She doesn’t dwell on her worry about hearing Finnick’s voice, because his voice is a comfort that rejuvenates her. Taking a deep breath, she pulls herself upward. </p><p>
  <em> Don’t go easy on me, Annie. I want to win for real.  </em>
</p><p>Somewhere in the distance, a cannon sounds. But Annie is swimming the tides of District Four with Finnick by her side, so she doesn’t hear it. </p><p>She also doesn’t hear the way her name is announced and the victory trumpets blare through the speakers. </p><hr/><p>Annie does reclaim the water. </p><p>She goes home, straight to the beach, and watches the waves for a moment. Her body is tight with tension as she wades in knee-deep, and for a moment, she can still hear the monstrous waves roaring in her ears. But the panic is gone in an instant, because this water is warm and welcoming. It sweeps her up into a giant hug and Annie feels laughter bubble in her chest. </p><p>Finnick holds her hand and he’s smiling, and so is she, because they’re both finally home.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I don't think I'll ever stop writing Finnick and Annie. </p><p>I'm honestly not sure what this is, it was an impulsive decision to write, but it was fun. I hope you enjoyed. :)</p></blockquote></div></div>
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